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category:  Holidays

Why eat dairy products on Shavuot?

The Rav Name: Rabbis of the Da’at Institute
  • Question

Hello Rabbi,

I would like to know why we eat dairy products on Shavuot.

  • Answer

Many reasons are brought for eating a dairy meal on Shavuot. One of the commonly known ones is that while the Jews were waiting to receive the laws of keeping kosher, they ate only dairy food, which didn’t require knowledge of the laws of slaughtering or of which animals and fowl are permissible. 


Another commonly known reason is that the numerical value of the Hebrew word for milk, ‘chalav’, is 40, which is the amount of days that Moses spent on Mount Sinai. Mount Sinai has eight names in Jewish sources, one of them is ‘Har Gavnunim’, ‘cheesy mountain,’ due to its pale and smooth appearance. 

 

Mount Sinai was chosen for the giving of the Torah, because while it is a mountain, in other words, has a commanding presence (healthy self-respect), it is a low mountain, representing humility. Some view eating milk products as humble behavior. 

 

All of the above are only some of the reasons (these and more are listed in the Hebrew version of The Book of our Heritage by Rabbi Eliyahu Ki-tov), but it is important to point out that having a meat meal separately from the dairy meal—for example, later on in the afternoon of the festival—is desirable for those who would normally eat meat on Shabbat or a festival, in order to honor the day. 

Sources

The Book of Our Heritage, Hebrew original by Rabbi Eliyahu KiTov, English translation by Rabbi Nachmun Bulman. Published by Yad Eliyahu Kitov and Feldheim Publishers, Jerualem.